I couldn’t help thinking this morning as I listened to the ALA awards about the excitement of being in the audience and hearing Janis Joplin Rise Up Singing named as the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction winner. Today Janis passes the baton to The Notorious Benedict Arnold by Steven Sheinkin. Congratulations!! This is a most exciting year for Steven!!!!!

Seriously. If I’m going to have a blog site, I really should be posting regularly on it. But I’m not that good. Still, if you really want to know what I’m thinking, head on over to www.thepiratetree.com where I post about twice a month along with a group of writers who look at social justice issues in children’s literature. I’m the writer who tends to focus on young adult literature.

But, seriously, if you’re wondering why I’m not writing for this blog, it’s because I’m working really, really, really hard on revising a novel that I think– most of the time anyway– risks being a bit light and sappy. Today, though, I think it has hope.

When I’m not doing that, I’ve been up to my everloving eyeballs in proposals for new concentrations at Mount Mary, the college where I teach. And then there’s family, you know? Seriously, you have to spend time with family. This fall was a time of weddings and funerals. My son was married in October and my dad died at the age of 83 of cancer in November. I’m really going to miss my dad who was rollerblading up until he simply couldn’t anymore.

I have another family wedding this coming October and I’m really looking forward to it. But, for right now, I’ve also SERIOUSLY set a goal of completing this novel and then getting together a nonfiction book proposal — I’m tell you the topic after I’ve gotten it put together. My original goal was to complete all of this before January 19. I’m not going to make that deadline but I WILL get both finished before February 1. It is time to buckle down.